HENRY NEWTON AND MARY BRYAN/BRYANT - CANADA PROJECT 150

First Published in the Halton-Peel  Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society Newsletter - Special Edition Halton-Peel KINections - Canada 150 Project - July 2017


The Halton-Peel Branch of the Ontario Genealogy Society invited members to share stories about ancestors who lived in Canada at the time of confederation in 1867.  Henry Newton and Mary Bryan/Bryant are my paternal 3x great-grandparents


Henry Newton and Mary Bryan family

Henry Newton and his wife Mary Bryan/Bryant were born in Ireland, possibly Kings County and came to Canada in the 1830’s.  Not much is known about them, but according to family history they both died in the late 1840’s or early 1850’s and have not been found on any census record.

According to the St. Lawrence Steamboat Company Passenger list there was a Henry Newton and wife and children listed as arriving from Quebec City to Montreal on 2^nd June 1831.

Certainly by 1837 Henry Newton was shown in the City of Toronto and Home District Directory as living on Concession 1, Lot 27, Albion Township, Peel County.  Their children have been identified as Robert (1821-1895), Henry (1824-1905), William (1826-1923), Maria (1828-1918) and possibly George Newton (1823-?).  There is also an entry in the 1847 Brown’s Directory for the same address for Henry Newton.

Maria Newton, aged 16 and Henry Newton aged 21 were confirmed in the church on October 28, 1844 in Albion.  Their address was listed as Lot 20, Concession 2, Albion, per the Index for Baptismal Register for the Mission of Chinguacousy, Gore of Toronto and Parts adjacent.

Robert Newton (1821-1895), farmer married Margaret Fallis before 1848 and they lived in Albion.  They had 5 children: Ester Ann (1848-1933), Mary (1849-1937), William Henry (1851-1921), Susan (1853-1864) and Margaret (1855-1912).  Margaret Fallis, a native of Enniskillen, Fermanagh Ireland died in 1855 in Wallace Perth County.  Her parents James Fallis(1802-1882) and Ester Spence (1803-1869) also of Fermanagh died in Albion and are buried in Crawford Cemetery. Robert married Isabella McKnight in 1857 Wallace, Perth County.  They had 11 children together and lived in Perth County and in Howick, Huron County, before moving to Manitoba.  When Robert Newton died in Elton Manitoba in 1895, his death Certificate stated he was from Queen’s County, Ireland.  More information about  Robert Newton part 1

Henry Newton (1824-1905), Storekeeper was living in Albion according to the 1851 Census, but by 1861 he had moved to Howick Huron.  He married Lydia Hill Bloomily, a widow in 1862.  Lydia died in a fire in Howick in 1864 and Henry married Susan Ghent Sutherland in 1865 in Wellington County.  By the 1901 Census Henry had moved to Kootenay East, B.C.  Henry died in 1905 in Athalmer B.C.  His place of birth was listed as Kings County, Ireland.

William Newton (1826-1923), farmer must have lived in Albion when his family first emigrated, but by the 1851 census he is living in Waterloo.  He is living with his presumed brother George Newton and his wife Letitia McFadyen Newton.  William married Eleanor Holt in 1855 in Waterloo.  Eleanor Holt is the sister of Thomas Holt.  Thomas Holt married Maria Newton.  According to the 1901 Census William emigrated to Canada in 1834.  On the 1911 Census his emigrated to Canada in 1837.

Maria Newton (1823-1918)  married Thomas Holt in 1846 in Albion and according to her obituary in 1918; Maria was born in Kings County Ireland. The Newton family including her parents and 4 brothers left Ireland on April 18, 1835 and landed in Toronto on July 11, 1835.  They moved to Albion, Peel County and she lived there until she married and moved to Wellington County.  The 1901 Census state Maria emigrated to Canada in 1843, but the 1911 Census states 1835.

NEWTON FAMILY - PART 3

As I continued my search for Robert Newton's parents I spent quite a bit of time researching the other Newtons in the area.  My research into William, Maria and Henry Newton took a lot of digging and at some points I wondered if I was just spinning my wheels.  Sometimes my husband asks me how the family "shrub" is progressing, as my research seems to spread sideways like a shrub instead of vertically like the tree it is supposed resemble.

Here's what I knew for sure:

• Henry, William and Maria were brothers and sister.
• George Newton was also a possible relative.
• They were born in Ireland about the same time as Robert.
• They were Protestant.
• They were farmers.
• They lived in the same geographical area of Ontario.
• Their parents were Henry Newton and Mary Bryan(t) or a variation.

Question:  Were they related to Robert Newton born about 1820, in Ireland, a protestant who lived in Albion, Peel County, Wallace, Perth County, Howick, Huron County and Manitoba?

I started my search using Ancestry and Family Search to see what information was available.  I had already  found the marriage registrations for Henry Newton , who had been married twice.  It was his  marriage that gave me his parents names.

Henry Newton born about 1828 married Lydia Hill in 1862 in Waterloo.  It turned out that Lydia had been married before to a Michael Bloomily and they had a son Michael Bloomily.  Lydia died in 1864 and Henry remarried in 1865.  He married Susan Ghent in Wellington County. Susan Ghent had also been married before to a Daniel Sutherland who died in 1862.  Henry and Susan had a daughter in Fordwich, Huron County in 1868.

Willliam Newton born about 1826 married Eleanor Holt about 1855 in Waterloo County and they had at least 8 children born in the Waterloo area.

Maria Newton born about 1828 married Thomas Holt about 1847, possibly in Toronto.  They had at least 12 children born in Welllington County.  Eleanor Holt and Thomas Holt were brother and sister as were Maria Newton and William Newton.

George Newton born about 1821 married Letitia Eason in Simcoe County, Robert Newton was a witness.

I contacted several researchers through Ancestry who had trees on the website.  They were researching the Holt family and had little information on the Newtons.  However one researcher indicated that Henry Newton senior had died when Maria Newton was a teenager around 13 years old and her mother Mary Bryan(t) had died before that.  This information was from family knowledge and I have not found any concrete proof of this information.  However if Henry Newton senior died about 1841, it would explain why he was not listed in an 1851 census Peel County.

At this point I decided to turn my attention to Robert Newton's children.  Some moved to Manitoba and some children stayed in Ontario.  I was hoping perhaps by researching these children, I might uncover some further information to help me.  If you have been following this blog and the Newton family you might remember that Robert Newton was the father of at least 16 children.  Oh, boy.

NEWTON FAMILY - PART 2

When I was researching Robert Newton (1821 - 1895) I thought I would look to see if there were other Newtons in the area that might be related.  All I knew was that he was Irish, he was a Protestant and he was a farmer.  He was in Ontario in 1851 according the the Census and he was living in Peel County.  By 1861 his first wife Margaret Fallis had died and he had remarried Isabella McKnight and he had moved to Wallace, Perth County.

It was rather a slow start.   The Toronto Family History Centre  has a weekly newsletter and there is an opportunity to have your  question published with (hopefully) a solution provided, either by the volunteers or another newsletter recipient.   Several years ago I sent in my question asking how I could find out when and where Robert Newton married Isabella McKnight.  Robert's first wife Margaret died in 1855 in Wallace Perth County and Isabella and Robert's first son Robert T. was born about 1857.  It looked like I had a two year window and a possible location of Wallace.

The answer came back that records for that period and that location were very scarce and it would be difficult to find out.  Great I thought, I'd already figured that part out, that was why I was asking where I could start my search.  My goal always to find out the parents names of Robert.

The next week however I received this reply from genealogist Fawne Stratford-Devai:

Fawne Stratford-Devai writes:

“Regarding the question for the Perth County marriage records pre-1869, we are very fortunate that the returns to the clerk of the peace were found and transcribed by Dan Walker and myself some years ago. The full transcription with index is available from Global Genealogy at: http://globalgenealogy.com/countries/canada/ontario/perth/resources/258034.htm

Perth County Baptism, Marriage & Burial Register, 1852-1859

Compiled by Dan Walker & Fawne Stratford-Devai

[Also available at the Toronto Reference Library and North York Public Library]

When I checked the transcriptions, I found the following entries for Newton/McKnight:

Marriages by Rev’d John Armstrong Wesleyan Methodist Minister

Robert NEWTON, to Isabella McKNIGHT. 11 Jan. 1857, Wallace, by Licence. Rev. ARMSTRONG. Wit. William McBRIDE and S. ARMSTRONG

Hooray for the internet.  A source for the marriage and where I could locate the source.  Not the complete answer I was looking for but it did confirm the marriage date between Robert and Isabella.

I decided to go back to the Census and see if I could find any other Newtons in the general area that were Irish, Protestant and possibly farmers.

Here's what I found on the 1851 Census:

William Newton born about 1826 in Ireland living in Waterloo County
George Newton born about 1821 in Ireland living in Waterloo County
Maria Newton Holt born about 1828 in Ireland living in Waterloo County
Henry Newton born about 1828 in Ireland living in Peel County

There was also a Henry Newton listed in the City of Toronto and Home District Directory and Register 1837.  He was listed at Albion Township, Peel County, Concession 1 Lot 27.

Could these be relatives of Robert?  The Henry that owned land in Albion, was probably not the same Henry in the 1851 Census.  That Henry would be just 9 years old in 1837. 

I did some more digging and found that William, Maria and Henry Newton (1828) were related.  Following their marriage registrations the parents for all three were listed as Henry Newton and Mary Bryan or Bryant.  I also found that when George Newton was married Robert Newton and William Fallis were the witnesses.  Fallis is the maiden name of Robert's first wife.

George married a Leitia Eason and  on the 1851 Census there is a William  Newton (1828)  living with the family in Waterloo.  Henry (1828) is also living quite nearby as well. Perhaps George is related to the other 3 Newtons.

A very helpful volunteer a the Peel Region Ontario Genealogical Society looked up some information for me as well.  She reported that a Henry Newton age 21 and a Maria Newton age 16 appeared on the Index for Baptismal Register for the Mission Chinguacousy,  Gore of Toronto and parts adjacent.  They had been confirmed 28 October 1844 in Albion, Peel, living at Lot 20 Concession 2.
Now that is not the same Concession and Lot where the other Henry was living but it was in Albion.

Also according to the Peel Region volunteer, the original land for Henry Newton - Lot 27, Concession 1 had been owned by an A.J. Fallis, by 1859.  Once again the Fallis name appears.

Now all I had to do was connect these Newtons to Robert.